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Update: response to further consultation

From 16 November to 21 December 2018, IP Australia consulted on draft regulations to accompany this Bill and associated explanatory material. This consultation has now closed, and we have responded to the submissions received. Please see our consultation page for more details, including changes proposed to the draft regulations as a result of the consultation process.

Consultation

From 23 July to 31 August 2018, IP Australia sought public comment on the Exposure Draft of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill (Productivity Commission Response Part 2 and Other Measures) Bill 2018. The consultation is now closed.

Thank you to all who contributed and provided submissions to our consultation.

We have considered all of the submissions and a response to this consultation detailing further changes, other outcomes, and our reasoning is available.

The Government has accepted the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to raise the threshold for inventive step, but decided to remove this measure from the Bill. The Government has decided to undertake further analysis and consultation with stakeholders before amending the inventive step requirements.

These measures are included in Schedule 1 to the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Productivity Commission Response Part 2 and Other Measures) Bill 2018 and include:

Amending inventive step requirements for Australian patents

Introducing an objects clause into the Patents Act 1990 (Patents Act)

Phasing out of the innovation patent system

The Bill also includes amendments to the Crown use provisions of the patents and designs legislation and compulsory licensing provisions in the Patents Act, in schedules 2-4.

Finally, the draft Bill contains measures to streamline processes within the Patents Act and the Trade Marks Act 1995 and make technical improvements to the legislation. These measures are included in Schedules 5-7 to the draft Bill.

The Government has decided that the Bill will not be introduced toParliament in 2018 due to other priorities. The Government remains committed to the reforms and subject to priorities intends to introduce the Bill to Parliament in 2019.

Legislation to implement other parts of the Government Response was enacted on 24 August 2018.

Previous consultation

IP Australia has previously consulted on the measures in schedules 1-4 of the Bill in the form of options papers. Details of the consultation, including the options paper, submissions received, and IP Australia’s response are available.

IP Australia has also previously consulted on the phasing out of the innovation patent system in its consultation of the Exposure Draft and Draft Explanatory Memorandum of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Productivity Commission Response Part 1 and Other Measures) Bill 2018. Consultation documents and submissions are available.

Note that IP Australia has not previously consulted on amendments of the Schedules 5-7 to the draft Bill, however most proposals have been published on IP Australia’s register of new policy issues.